There is an illness in Maine that affects more than 100,000 individuals, but only 15 percent are able to access treatment. The illness I’m referring to is chemical dependence – substance abuse and addiction. How frustrating and heartbreaking it is when someone you care about can’t get into treatment because of a lack of beds and funding. We need to have a plan for substance abuse prevention and enough facilities to treat people with an illness that is occurring at an epidemic rate.

Maine youth are drinking at an increasingly younger age, and we know that those who drink before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become alcohol dependent than those who wait until they are of legal age. According the Maine Office of Substance Abuse, more than 59,600 employed adults in Maine have serious substance abuse problems; almost three-quarters of that group primarily abuse alcohol.

I am the executive director of Wellspring, a licensed drug and alcohol treatment facility in Bangor. We have two residential programs: a men’s facility with 15 beds and a women’s program with 13 beds. Both have current waiting lists that are 22 people long. Because this is long-term treatment with an average length of stay of six months, people on those waiting lists can anticipate a delay of four months or longer.

Our staff talks daily to those who are enduring this wait for treatment, to assist them in locating other care and to comfort them during their wait. I once talked with an individual seeking treatment who asked, “If I had cancer would you make me wait four months?” Of course not – so why do we make these families and individuals wait … and wait … and wait?

I know why we do. Wellspring, like every agency in Maine, does not have adequate capacity to meet the need and demand for treatment, and there is no funding available to increase that capacity.

Alcohol abuse costs the state of Maine and its taxpayers about $430 million dollars per year. These costs are in the form of lost wages and productivity, increased health and safety costs and increased costs in the criminal justice and child welfare systems.

For too long, Maine has relied solely on allocations from the state’s General Fund and grants from the federal government to fund the prevention and treatment of alcohol abuse in our state. With increasing budget deficits, we can’t rely on this funding any more. It is time for those who produce, distribute and consume the most alcohol to carry more of the costs.

The Maine Association of Substance Abuse Programs has a plan to fund these critically needed services. Representative Anne Perry recently submitted legislation to increase the tax on alcohol purchases to 10 cents per drink, up from the current 2.3 cents on wine and 3.3 cents on beer currently collected. If the tax on these beverages alone were increased to 10 cents per drink, an estimated $27.5 million per year could be generated to fund the treatment and prevention of substance abuse.

However, Rep. Perry’s bill was rejected for consideration in the current legislative session, which is reserved for emergency legislation. But other bills that strengthen the liquor industry were approved for consideration this session. How much of an emergency is it that the Legislature considers an Act to Strengthen Maine’s Craft Brewing Industry, or An Act to Allow Small Business to Participate in Liquor Sales, or An Act to Create Fairness in Liquor Licensing Fees? Is it not an emergency that a 10th of Maine’s citizens are in desperate need of treatment for substance abuse?

In April 2003, 70.8 percent of Mainers polled said they “support an increase in the tax on alcohol to support substance abuse prevention and treatment programs for youth.” In June 2004, 500 Maine parents were polled and 56 percent said they “supported increasing the tax on alcohol” as a strategy for addressing underage drinking.

My question to Gov. Baldacci and state lawmakers is this: Why do you refuse to look at this premium tax to help the citizens of Maine? You recently increased tax on tobacco products, so why not alcohol? I challenge all who read this and have questions as to why we can not increase a premium tax on alcohol to fund much-needed prevention and treatment to call, e-mail, or write their legislators and ask why.

And for those families who are currently struggling to get their loved ones into treatment, my heart goes out to you.

Patricia A. Kimball is the executive director of Wellspring, a drug and alcohol treatment facility in Bangor, and secretary and co-chair of the Legislative Committee for MASAP. Please join our weekly conversation about Maine’s substance abuse problem. We welcome comments or questions from all perspectives. Send e-mail contributions to findingafix@bangordailynews.net, or phone the column response line at (207) 990-8111. Letters may be mailed to Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04401. Column editor Meg Haskell may be reached at (207) 990-8291 or mhaskell@bangordailynews.net.